1V1 WITH DARCY ROSE BYRNES

Photos by Nick Dee

She's incredibly hardworking and she's flushed with talent, I felt motivated just by reading about her work and the many disciplines she dominates. I'm talking about the brilliant Darcy Rose Byrnes, the young actress, singer, songwriter and more who many will remember as Abby from"The young and the Restless", Penny from "Desperate Housewives", and more recently, Disney+'s acclaimed dramedy "Big Shot"

It'd probably be easier to list all the things Darcy Rose isn't skilled or trained in than it would be to list all of her talents, suffice it to say that she would be at home in a Broadway musical just as much as she would be inside a recording studio, in front of a stand-up crowd or at the set of a period drama. At only 22 years, you'd best be prepared to see more of her from now on, the best is yet to come, I'm sure.

For those that have yet to discover Big Shot on Disney+. Please tell us a bit about the show and your role in it.

Big Shot is about Marvyn Korn (John Stamos) who gets a job as a coach at an all girl’s highschool after a scandal involving him throwing a chair at a ref’s head looses him his NCAA coaching position. We follow him, the adults at the school, the students and their families as they try to navigate relationships and expectations, both external and internal. I play Harper, whom we meet as a somewhat unscrupulous student journalist doing a piece on Marvin. As the season progresses, a love story between her and Mouse (Tisha Custodio) blossoms and a somewhat adversarial relationship with Emma Korn (Sophia Mitri Schloss) is explored.

Besides acting in Big Shot, you’re also heavily involved with its musical aspects such as arrangement, composition, and songwriting, how did that come to be? did the producers lean on your talent from the start or did you approach them with your own ideas at first?

I kind of approached them! We were shooting episode 103 and I mentioned in conversation, I thought Mouse should write a song for Harper. Dean Lorey joked “that would be three lines and only facts.” We laughed it off but then I went home and wrote that song, ‘Everything to Me’. Tisha Custodio and I sent Dean a video of us playing it. And off of that song, they asked me to write Beth Macbeth, the gender flipped musical adaptation of Macbeth. I don’t understand how the BigShot creative team and Disney knew I could write a broadway style Shakespeare musical like ‘end of act 1 of Wicked’ off of that little folk love song, but they did and I’m grateful they gave me the chance to prove to myself what I’m capable of creating.

Seems to me that you’re the kind of very driven people who are always doing something to develop their skill set, what are you working on/learning right now?

Always writing. Music, scripts, poems, everything. The way you get better as a writer, is by writing. During quarantine, when I wasn’t working at home I started honing my skills as a music producer. In the past, I would spend hours at a time learning a new instrument, but when it came to tech and the software we use to record music, I’d spend two minutes trying to figure it out, scream, “I JUST WANNA PLAY MUSIC” and go to my upright piano and hate-play my anger out on some sick jazz. But then in 2020, I really put the effort into learning how to be my own engineer. I had to, I recorded all the demos for Big Shot from home. Being at a place where, now I can turn on my computer, and flush out a track into what I actually hear in my head is very satisfying. But it’s definitely something I’m not done learning how to do better. I’m also currently writing sheet music for the backlog of songs I never wrote down on paper. 

Motivation is kinda fleeting, I think Consistency is the true defining factor in every achievement. Do you agree? How do you stay consistent with all of your productive endeavors?

I slightly disagree. If I consistently focused time every day on all the things I do, I wouldn’t have time to sleep. My mother always said, “You can have it all, just not all at once.” I do agree that you must consistently work to better your skills, but it’s not linear. It’s not like if you take a break, you’re broken. I had a week where I only played harp and didn’t touch another instrument. When I went back to piano, I started thinking and playing like a harpist (prepositioning my fingers). All of my hobbies and the things I learn, effect each other. It’s like a dance: My interests lead and I follow. 

Between writing and composing music, dancing, acting, singing, and doing voice work, it seems like you can do it all. out of all the things that overlap with the entertainment industry, which do you feel have been the most rewarding to work in? 

Thank-you! They’re all rewarding in different ways. I’d say that performing my musical standup is a feeling like no other. There’s a balancing act for me, of having fun and making it look easy, while inside, I’m reading and analyzing each face in the audience. Every performance is different, even if it’s the exact same set, because every audience is different. There’s honesty from a live audience.It doesn’t matter if they know you, or like you, you have to earn every laugh. Comedy is no joke.

Speaking of work, what’s the one thing you’d like to try your hand in that hasn’t quite materialized yet? Do you have any ambitions as a screenwriter or director?

I’m always writing scripts and I took a few to the stage in the Hollywood Fringe in 2019.As for directing: I played Princess Amber on Sofia The First, my first standup show was called Not That Kind of Princess, and I’ve played a Queen and future Queen so many times that I joke I’m the “Once and Future Queen”. I have a feeling that this Queen’s favorite throne will be a director’s chair.

As far as music goes, you’ve written over 100 songs now, any chance you’ll be putting together an album?

That number is actually over 300 now! I’m crawling my way through my titles and producing tracks in my home studio one by one. An album is definitely on the table. Although I keep accidentally writing songs for a musical I haven’t actively decided to write yet. So I don’t know if the debut album or musical would come out first. The musical seems very persistent.

I can imagine you have a very broad taste in music, what’s on your playlist right now? Any criminally underrated artists you wish people listened to more often?

Some artists I constantly have on repeat: Natalia Jiménez. Eivør. Jennifer Rostock. Lara Fabian. Matt Andersen.

Albums I constantly have on repeat: Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano, Elemental by Taimane, Neon Gods by The Haun Solo Project, and Come Down Angel by Bob Stillman.

Everything that Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong did together makes me feel hygge. Tim Minchin is masterful.

Alright. I’m done now. Enjoy your new youtube rabbit hole. Bet you didn’t think there’d be research!!

A little bird told me you’re doing some more voiceover work, can you say anything you can tease us with?

No I can’t. But, perhaps, I’ll be able to talk about it at Comic-Con… 2022.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Samuel Aponte is Venezuelan-born raised and based. 

I joined Rival Magazine after a few years of doing PR work for independent musicians of all stripes; understanding their struggles to be heard in a sea of constant  ADHD noise and paywalled access to platforms, I now bring a willingness to always appreciate and encourage the effort and creativity that artists put into their work . Can also find some of my writings on LADYGUNN and We Found New Music.